flat kart question

howdy im new to the flat kart scene. my 13 year old son has been racing champ karts since he was 5 and has done very well with them, now its time to start looking for a flat kart. what is a good user friendly chassis to run a 1/5 th mile dirt oval with? im hearing to look for a phenom or a triton. I know very little about either. thoughts? thanks
Dana
 
What price Range ? Where are you Racing ? I see you say 1/5 th mile so I'm assuming for Local Fri or Sat night points racing ? NOT Series racing daytime.
 
Dana, for LV, a Triton would be a great choice.
Just get the right 4 tires on it and it'll fly.
Phenom will work well and is very forgiving on tires, even there.
The Phenom might be better suited for K3, but I've seen plenty of Tritons win there as well.
The Triton would have better roll speed on bigger/momentum tracks with higher cross, while the Phenom really thrives on low/no bite tracks with tight corners.
Both are very good choices.
FWIW, Seth did very well on his Falcon flat karts up there. We've still got one of his here in the shop available if you're interested.
It sounds like your son is getting squeezed/aged out of champs locally the same as happened with Seth @ 12/13.

Give us a call if there's anything we can help you out with.
(Tires, preps, engines, clutches, or a complete kart!)

-----
Thanks and God bless,
Brian Carlson
Carlson Racing Engines
Vector Cutz
www.CarlsonMotorsports.com
Carlson Motorsports on Facebook
30 years of service to the karting industry
Linden, IN
765-339-4407
bcarlson@CarlsonMotorsports.com
 
What price Range ? Where are you Racing ? I see you say 1/5 th mile so I'm assuming for Local Fri or Sat night points racing ? NOT Series racing daytime.
yes non points racing on the weekends. wanna have fun first and foremost and secondly want to be competitive.. thanks. im not a wealthy man however I would rather pay up front on good equipment than to struggle on a chassis that wont turn
 
I'd look at value best bang for your buck there both good karts but still gotta buy them right, in the long run I agree with most above the Triton would be better, BEST thing you can do regardless which way you go is go to the track rub shoulders with some of the fast guy's and learn as much as possible about the tire of choice and how it's prepped, A chassis that won't turn is not the chassis it's set-up and TIRES.

Good Luck !!
 
I also agree on the triton.

If I'm remembering correctly or listened correctly to the answer of my question at Phantom, it's the only kart I know of designed with a specific reason in mind for your application.


by the way, the only reason I went to the Phantom location was to ask my question about the Triton kart. The reply I got to me indicated I was thinking correctly about it's construction and what they added in the answer about it being there to help Junior drivers for me fit in perfectly.

Their next and newer level of chassis after the Triton I was told was designed more towards putting an easy baseline on the track because the state of the art in today's karting(then yesterdays karting) was tires tires and tire preparation. Yep I'm the sort who will make a 2hr side trip on a journey just to ask a 5 minute question about racing and setup. ... :)
 
Keep in mind that there are several "versions" of the Triton as well.
std., 035, junior, and the unicorn 2013s that everyone seems to gravitate toward.
A Triton junior works well at these tracks (especially with a lighter driver.)
But there have been MANY money races won with the venerable old Phenom as well, even against all the newer chassis.

Get me a good kart, a good engine, a good driver, and a GREAT set of tires and we'll win a bunch of races together. :)
 
Keep in mind that there are several "versions" of the Triton as well.
std., 035, junior, and the unicorn 2013s that everyone seems to gravitate toward.
A Triton junior works well at these tracks (especially with a lighter driver.)
But there have been MANY money races won with the venerable old Phenom as well, even against all the newer chassis.

Get me a good kart, a good engine, a good driver, and a GREAT set of tires and we'll win a bunch of races together. :)

I like this idea. my 14 year old is 5'8 and approx. 180lbs all his racing experience was in champ karts.
 
What chassis was your champ kiart ? Did you like the chassis ? Does the maker of the champ also build flat karts ? If you are familiar with your champ chassis , and have been a winner with it , I would suggest purchasing a flat kart of the same make , because you are familiar with how that kart works and handles . JMO
 
What chassis was your champ kiart ? Did you like the chassis ? Does the maker of the champ also build flat karts ? If you are familiar with your champ chassis , and have been a winner with it , I would suggest purchasing a flat kart of the same make , because you are familiar with how that kart works and handles . JMO
Not s bad idea. Our champs are rage chassis'
 
Not s bad idea. Our champs are rage chassis'

Does not matter much anyway, a flat kart and Champ are two complete different beast your going to have to go through a whole new learning process, don't get hung up on just buying one certain brand chassis there are many others that will suit your needs, Do your homework and buy right and If you can get one that was raced in Jr 3 that already has good set-up and notes would be a big plus.

Good Luck !!
 
thanks for the input guys, I met Mr. Carlson at the OVKA swap meet and with his suggestions, ended up picking up a triton jr. thanks to all for steering me in the right direction and wish us luck!
 
Dana, Tritons are plentiful out there and reasonable just make sure you purchase it from a reputable racer that has taken care of it. 2 other karts that are reasonable in price are phantom nemesis and prowlers, if there have been taken care of they are great handling and easy to dial in on dirt tracks. Tires are obviously the key but those two karts are often found very reasonable. Don’t know what your budget is but if your son is used to champ karts and you are just starting in flat karts until he makes the decision that’s what he wants to run you won’t be out too much money if he wants to go back to champ karts. Good luck and hope you all have fun. My son tried the champs after years in flat karts and they were too bouncy for him lol
 
thanks for all the feedback guys! we made the trip to the OVKA swap meet and found a triton Jr for my son. we are very excited and having a blast working on it together.
Dana Garton
 
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